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Notes and Comment (continued) shelves; a native Maine cherry crown; redoak desktop and drawer sides; corner posts of white oak with zebrawood accents and drawer fronts of elm rimmed with hornbeam. The teak pulls are inlaid with abalone shell. The desktop, which has a leather insert, pulls out to create a writing surface above a bank of 10 drawers. Although this was a commissioned piece, Ascrizzi was unencumbered by the creative and budgetary consu"aints normally imposed by a customer. In fact, the only drawings he made were to work out some of the technical details for the carcase and tambour door construction. Ascrizzi spent more than 2,000 hours over the course of a couple of years completing the piece. -Sandm' Nagyszalanczy Ann Fund-raiser, veneer auction This fall, the Woodworkers' Alliance for Rainforest Protection (WARP) will auction nearly one million sq. ft. of mostly hardwood veneers. The inventory varies from five to 25 years of age and includes more than 50 tropical and temperate species. Most of the veneers in this offering are thicker than current standards, and many species are no longer available. All proceeds will benefit WARP and will ouncements Birchbark-canoe building classes The 16-day class is comprehensive, from harvesting the bark to launching the finished canoe. Here, a student fits the cedar gunwale caps on a nearly completed canoe. Offer help the nonprofit organization develop an information phone line and a testing program of lesser-known species. The veneer auction .will be held September 17-19, at Westover Industrial Airpark in Chicopee, Mass. For a complete list of available species and quantities and directions to the site, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to WARP Veneer, P.O. Box 133, Coos Bay, Ore. 97420. -Scott Landis, Coatesville, Pa. Kiln drying guidebook Quality Drying of Hardwood Lumber Guidebook Checklist is a new publication offered by the USDA Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory. Although written to help commercial kiln operators reduce checking and warping when drying hardwood lumber, it should also prove helpful for home kiln operators as well by focusing on lumber handling and kiln operations and maintenance. Copies of the guidebook (General Technical Report FPL-IMP-GTR-2) are available from the Forest Products Laboratory, One Gifford Pinchot Drive, Madison, Wis. 53705-2398. -Charley Robinson New newsletter aimed at the professional woodworker Woodworker's Business News is a monthly newsletter published by Woodworker's Supply, Inc. (1 108 . Glenn Road, Casper, Wyo. 82601; 307-237-5528) that is directed specifically to d1e needs and interests of profes- 118 Fine Woodworking sional woodworkers. Although 60 for 12 issues might seem a little pricey, d1e editor says that readers will save many times d1at amount wid1 d1e marketing, production and other u"ade information contained in d1e newsletter. If you're interested in subscribing to or writing for the newsletter, contact the editor at Woodworker's Business c/o Woodworker's Supply, Inc., 5604 Alameda Place N.E. , Albuquerque, N.M. 87113; (505) 828-2574. News諷 -CR. Birchbark canoe building courses Courses on building a wood-and-canvas canoe or a cedar-strip canoe are offered throughout d1e year in a variety of locations. However, finding classes on building a birchbark canoe is a much greater challenge. David Gidmark and his wife Ernestine, d1e great-granddaughter of a native Ojibway birchbark canoe builder, provide classes on this traditional craft each July on the shores of Lake Superior at Port Wing, Wis. Participants in the 16-day class work together to build a full-sized (1 3-ft.-long) Algonquin-style canoe called a wabanaki tciman. The $750 course fee includes lodging. For more information, contact David Gidmark, P.O. Box 26, Dept. FW Quebec, Canada J9E 3B3. , According to a resolution d1at was passed by the U.S. Senate (and one pending in d1e House of Representatives at the time of d1is writing) 1993 is the Year of American Craft 1993: Year of American craft Maniwaki, -CR. (YOAC). The purpose ofYOAC is to bring attention to craft throughout America, recognize the breadd1 of d1e contributions made by the craft community and demonstrate that craft, as an expression of values, is a link that joins humankind. This Pan-American celebration of craft includes not only evel1' state across the nation but also some Latin American and Caribbean nations and Canada. A variety of exhibitions and workshops are being sponsored by public and private museums and galleries. A YOAC Participation Guide d1at lists each state's activities and includes a state cOOl"dinator d1at you can contact for further information is available from the American Craft Council (c/o Hortense Green, 72 Spring St., New York, N.Y. 10012) for $6. If your group has any exhibitions or other activities planned for 1993, contact Hortense Green at d1e address above or call (212) 274-0630 to be added to the list. -CR. When Carlton Cook asked for 35 new bowling balls, few customers at the bowling proshop seemed surprised. They probably assumed he was an alley manager. But when d1ey realized he had ordered each ball wid1 just one finger hole, drilled straight du"ough d1e middle ... . "The room froze," Cook recalls. "It was like an E.F. Hutton commercial. One hole? Straight through d1e middle?" Rolling out some new designs a challenging option for a summer vacation. Photo: David Gidmark